Mechanical boat lifter and indicator



Now/4, 1941. r. DONNERSTOG: 2,251,513

- I MECHANICAL BOAT LIFTER AND INDICATOR v Filed Nov. 8, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 6 TORPEDO 77 I a 85 T72 omas Z70 n n erszgg INVENTOR ATTOR N EYS Nov. 4, 1941.

T. DONNERSTOG 2,261,513 MECHANICAL BOAT LIFTER AND=INDICATOR Filed Nov. 8, 1959' a Sheets-Sheet F 3G w n .;'s-6a Thom-as Z7onnersz0 9 l INVENT R ATTORNEYS Patented Nov. 4, 1941 UNlTED ST OFFICE Thomas Donnerstog, St. Paul, Minn. I Application November 8, 1939, Serial No. 303,480 2 Claims ((11. Iii-16.4)

My invention relates to new and useful improvements in distress indicating apparatus for sinking or sunken vessels,and the like.

An important object of my invention is to provide an apparatus of the above-mentioned character that may be carried by any craft intended to Operate on, above or under the water and that is adapted to float on the surface of the water above the same in the event that a disaster occurs.

Another object of my invention is the provision of an apparatus of theabove-mentioned character that includes a buoy provided with av distress signaling device, said buoy being of sufficient size to accommodate a person competent to send and receive a distress signal. Still another object of my invention is to provide a distress indicating apparatus that is unique in its construction to permit the comparatively light cable connecting the buoy with the vessel to be replaced by a cable of sufficient strength to permit salvaging of the said vessel.

Yet another object of my invention is to provide an apparatus of the above-mentioned character wherein the heavy cable may be easily and expeditiously substituted for the light cable and wherein all the necessary operations may be con ducted from the surface of the water.

A further object of my invention is the provision of a distress indicating apparatus that is simple in construction, efilcient and efiicacious in the performance of its duties and that may be easily and expeditiously incorporated in the said craft.

' Other objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent during the course of the following description.

In the drawings, forming a part of this specification, and in which like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the same,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a ship, showing parts broken away, and illustrating an apparatus embodying my invention incorporated therewith,

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1, but showing the buoy and torpedo embodying a part of my invention released from the sunken ship,

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view of the buoy and means for holding the same in association with the vessel,

Figure 4 is a transverse sectional view, taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 3,

Figure 5 is a longitudinal torpedo embodying showing means for with the vessel,

sectional view of the a part of my invention, and holding same in association Figure 6 is a transverse sectional view, taken on the line -6-6 of Figure 5,

Figure '7 is a vertical sectional view, taken on the line 1-1 of Figure 6, and

Figure 8 illustrates a modification of the'means for releasing the torpedo.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein for the purpose of illustration, is shown a preferred embodiment of my invention, the numeral Ill designates the hull of a ship having a bow H and stern l2. The bowfof the ship casing i3 suspended from the deck 14 having a bottom i5 and an outwardly divergent upper portion It. The annular lip ll comprises an extension of the casing l3 within the divergent upper portion 16 thereof and the free edge of the said lip is beveled toaccommodate the outwardly divergent upper portion it of the buoy It.

The buoy comp-rises an elongated box-like lower portion 20 integrally connected to the divergent upper portion is and is of suflicient size to accommodate a person therein. The upper portion i8 is provided with a transverse end wall 2| normally positioned flush with the deck 22, as illustrated in Figure Bl The wall 2| is provided with :a central opening 23 formed with an annular'recess' adapted to receive the supported lip 24' of the cover 25; attaching brackets 26 and 21 are carried by the end Wall 2! and cover 25, respectively, interiorly' oi the buoy topermit the cover to The fitted in the opening 23 from the interior of the buoy in a manner to form a water tight union therewith. One side of the box-like lower portion 20 of the buoy is formed with a vertical recess 28, and a plurality of transverse bars- 28 are positioned in abridging relation thereto to define a ladder to permit a person to easily and expeditiously gain access to the interior of the buoy. ,The vertical partition Zil comprises an upward extension of one of the side walls of'theloWer portion 29 of the buoy and defines an inner compartment 3% adapted to accommodate a radio or similar signaling device 3|.

The signaling device 3| may be automatic in its action or may have a manual control incorporated therewith to permit a person within the buoy to send or to receive distress signals. A pluralityof links 32, pivotally mounted around the periphery of the upper portion l8, are adapted to have life preservers, or the like, secured thereto.

An I- beam 33 is securely attached within the hold of the vessel and extends transversely through the casing 13 subjacent to the bottom has a. cylindrical of the buoy and the coil springs 34 are interposed between the I-beam and the bottom of the said buoy. Lever arms 35 and 36 are pivotally carried by the casing l3 at opposite sides of the lower portion 20 of the buoy and spaced substantially above the I-beam 33 to engage the buoy adjacent the bottom thereof. The inner ends of the lever arms are adapted to be received within arcuate recesses 31 and 38 in the sides of the buoy when the said buoy has substantially compressed the coil springs 34. The lever arm 39 is pivotally mounted in spaced parallel relation with the lever arms 35 and 36 and is connected to the outer ends thereof by the links 40 and 4|. A wheel 42 is carried by the lever arm39 centrally thereof to permit the same to be manually pivoted either to the right or to the left to disengage the inner ends of the lever arms 35 and 36 from the recesses 31 and 38 and to permit the resilient action of the coil springs 34 to eject the buoy from the casing I3.

The gromet 43 is fastened to the underside of the I-beam 33 by bolt 44 and nut 45 and has the ends thereof flared outwardly and rounded to slidably receive the cable 46. The portion of the casing |3 below the I-beam 33 is divided by a vertical partition 41 to define the compartments 48 and 49; the cable 46 is coiled in each of the said compartments, as illustrated in Figure 3, and has the ends thereof attached to the bottom of the buoy by the cable couplings 58.

The torpedo is mounted at the stern of the vessel and is received in and supported by an elongated trough 52 which opens through both the deck l4 and the stern of the hull. The horizontal I-beam 53 is firmly secured to the inner structure of the ship and extends transversely through the trough 52 adjacent the rearward end thereof.

The torpedo comprises a cylindrical casing having a transverse bottom wall 54 and a hemispherical cover 55 which has a sealed engagement with the open end of the casing and is held in appressed relation therewith by the threaded bolt 56. The inner end of the bolt 56 is threadedly received in a cul-de-sac provided in the boss 51 formed on the transverse dividing wall 58. The hemispherical cover 55 is formed with a transverse dividing wall 59 defining an air pocket 60, and a plurality of horizontally arranged coil springs 6| are interposed between the beam 53 and the bottom 54 of the torpedo. The lever arms 62 and 63 are pivoted to the trough 52 at diametrically opposed sides of the torpedo and the inner ends thereof are received in arcuate slots formed in the periphery of the casing 5|. When the slots align with the ends of the lever arms 62 and 63 the coil springs 6| are substantially compressed in the manner hereinbefore de scribed for the buoy I9. The operating lever 64 is pivotally mounted below and in spaced parallelism with the arms 62 and 63 and is connected with the outer ends thereof by the links 65 and 66. A wheel 61 is mounted on the operating arm 64 centrally thereof to effect the disengagement of the arms 62 and 63 from the torpedo. One advantage of the torpedo over the buoy is that movement of the operating lever to disengage the lever arms 62 and 63 will permit the tensioned springs 6| to throw the torpedo clear of the ships hull and superstructure and into the water. Obviously, as the hull sinks below the surface of the water, the buoyant torpedo will fioat on the surface rearwardly thereof and, if the springs are sufiiciently strong, danger of the torpedo becoming entangled in the rigging or other parts of the superstructure will be reduced to a minimum.

The elongated gromet 68 is similar to the gromet 43 but includes a laterally extending shank 69 pivotally received by the I-beam 53 and held in engagement therewith by the lock nut 10. The middle portion of the cable 1| is slidably received by the gromet 68; the portion at either side thereof is coiled within the torpedo in the manner illustrated in Figure 5 and the extremities are secured to the transverse wall 58 by the couplings 12 and 13. The manner in which the grommet is located at the stern of the vessel and the manner in which it is pivotally associated with the I-beam 53 will permit the same to more readily accommodate itself to any angle or position that the vessel may assume in sinking. When the torpedo is projected beyond the rearward edge of the hull the cable will also extend over the rearward end of the hull and, if the hull starts to roll about its longitudinal axis, the grommet will turn about its pivot to prevent jamming of the cable therein.

In Figure 8 I have shown a modification of the holding means for the torpedo. The levers 14 and 15, pivoted at either side of the torpedo, are formed with inwardly projecting lugs 16 and 11 received within diametrically opposed slots in the casing. The coil spring 18 normally holds the lugs 16 and 11 in engagement with the torpedo. An operating lever 19 is pivoted in close proximity to the torpedo and the cables and 8| are connected to either end thereof and pass over the pulleys 82 and 83 to connect with the arms 14 and 15. A lever 84 is connected to the operating lever 19 at one side of its pivot by the link 85 in a manner whereby actuation of the lever 84 will pivotally move the operating lever 19 to simultaneously disengage the lugs 16 and 11 from the torpedo.

The buoy and torpedo may be incorporated in a ship structure in the manner hereinbefore described, or adapted to the fuselage of an airplane, or any craft which may operate on, above or underneath the water. When a craft, here illustrated as a ship, is in distress and in danger of sinking below the water, a person competent to operate a signaling apparatus may seal himself in the buoy I9. It is to be understood that the signaling means 3| need not be manually operated but may be automatically adapted to transmit an S 0 s signal. If it is obvious that the ship is going to sink the buoy and torpedo may be released and, as the vessel sinks beneath the water, the cables 46 and 1| will uncoil themselves from their respective receptacles. When the ship is lying on the ocean floor the buoy and torpedo will float on the surface of the water above the sunken vessel, as illustrated in Figure 2, and are of sufiicient size to be seen for a considerable distance.

It may thus be seen that the buoy and torpedo will mark the location of the sunken vessel and permit searching parties to easily determine the location of the same. When it is desired to salvage the ship, the salvage party may disengage one end of the cables 46 and 1| from the buoy and torpedo, respectively, and attach a heavy cable thereto. If the light cables are then pulled through the gromets 43 and 68, the heavy cables may be threaded therethrough and brought to the surface in a manner to permit the salvage party to raise the sunken vessel.

It is to be understood that the form of my invention, herewith shown and described, is to be taken as a preferred example of the same, and that various changes in the size, shape and arrangement of parts, may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of my invention, or the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A distress indicating apparatus for vessels comprising a buoyant receptacle disposed in a recess opening through both the rear wall of the hull and through the deck, a grommet pivotally carried by the hull for movement about a horizontal axis, a cable threaded through said grommet to be slidably guided thereby and connected to the receptacle, means detachably latching the receptacle within the recess, receptatcle projecting spring means mounted in said recess and engaging said receptacle, said spring means being tensioned by the latched receptacle inside said recess whereby the spring means may project the unlatched receptacle through the open end of the recess and clear of the vessel, the said cable extending through either the open end or top of the recess and acting to pivot the grommet as the vessel sinks to prevent jamming oi the cable therein.

2. A distress indicating apparatus for vessels comprising a buoyant receptacle disposed in a recess opening through both the rear wall of the hull and through the deck portion thereof, a grommet pivotally carried by the hull at the bottom of the recess for movement about a horizontal axis, a cable threaded through said grommet to be slidably guided thereby and connected to the receptacle, said receptacle having sockets, means for detachably latching the receptacle within the recess, said means comprising movable members receivable in said sockets, means for moving said movable members clear of said sockets to release said receptacle, horizontally arranged spring means mounted in said recess and engaging said receptacle said spring means being tensioned by the latched receptacle inside said recess whereby the spring means may project the unlatched receptacle through the open end of the recess and clear of the Vessel, the said cable extending through either the open end or top of the recess and acting to pivot the grommet as the vessel sinks to prevent jamming of the cable therein.

THOMAS DONNERSTOG. 

